Sunday 21 February 2016

Rift Watcher Review



Sixteen-year-old Onnie, newly minted adult, isn’t sure what she wants in life, but she is sure what she doesn’t want, and going off to the Interplanetary Alliance’s Academy is at the top of that list. When she purposely flunks the entrance exam, she’s certain that’s why her father commanded her and her brother Jayesh to return to Rift Watcher Station. As Onnie settles into her new life on Rift Watcher, will she find a place of her own?

Chief Medical Officer Darragh Conally has issues. And secrets. As Onnie determinedly worms her way into his life and forges a friendship he doesn’t want, those secrets come dangerously close to being exposed. But how do you tell the Captain’s daughter to back off without risking your job?

There’s something wrong with the relationship between the Galladirans and the Earthers. It’s all polite on the surface; too polite. And Onnie can feel the tension rippling underneath. How long will it be until things break wide open?



                    


C R Simper was raised seven miles north of a small town, with two sisters, thirteen dogs, and an open sky painted every night with billions of stars. This unharried childhood allowed time for much reading, which led into a desire to create stories of worlds beyond her own. 

She is a member of the American Night Writer's Association. She has two published short stories in the Steampunk genre. Besides writing, she has a passion for genealogy, volleyball, and bargain hunting.


              


5 out of 5 Stars
If it were possible I would give this 6 stars. I am in awe of CR Simpers talent. She is an artist who with the polish of her words paints a story you can slip into effortlessly. The first chapter does take a bit of work to get through but then from there the story flows taking you with it. There are elements of danger and intrigue but it is not those aspects alone that keep you invested in the story. You actually get to know and care about the characters. You get to know them so well that you can almost anticipate how they will react in a situation. CR Simper also keeps those character traits intact throughout the whole story. I enjoyed this story so much that the next day I found myself opening the book picking a random page and just reading. Not just for the storyline but simply for the joy of reading something that is so well written. I definitely enjoy CR Simpers writing style and will now have to find other books she has written.
This book is completely clean and I would recommend it for both YA and adults alike. Rift Watcher isn’t just on my re-read list but it is already on my open to a random page list. This list is the books that are so well written that I can pick a random page and be instantly immersed back into the story. There are only 5 Authors that are on this list and CR Simper is now one of them.  Bravo! 


Top Ten List
10 Bird/bunny watching in my yard.
9 Playing the piano
8 Bargain hunting
7 Arizona Sunsets
6 Taking long drives in the country
5 Writing and more writing
4 Researching my ancestors (or yours)
3 Walking my silly dog
2 Helping my friends
1 Dinner conversations with my family


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Escape to Eden Review



Run now!

When seventeen-year-old Sage wakes up in a hospital with no memories, her only clue are the words written on her hand. With a deadly disease threatening to wipe out mankind, Sage must find out who she is and why most people would kill to get their hands on her--before it's too late. This fast-paced, futuristic thriller is a spine-tingling read!



                  


Rachel McClellan was born and raised in Idaho, a place secretly known for its supernatural creatures. When she's not in her writing lair, she's partying with her husband and four crazy, yet lovable, children. Rachel's love for storytelling began as a child when the moon first possessed the night. For when the lights went out, her imagination painted a whole new world. And what a scary world it was... 



                      


5 out of 5 Stars
This book grabs you the moment you start and takes you on a whirlwind ride that doesn’t end until the last page. There was barely time to breath between the action, but somehow you don’t mind. I actually really enjoy the plot line as well. You always see stories where the main character has special powers but it is very unusual to have the main character be the one without any of these traits. I could almost feel her frustration at being the weak and plain one when all around her everyone else was brilliant, strong and stunning. I loved the interaction between the main characters and found myself questioning motives, and hoping for the best for them all. If you like the Hunger Games you will love this book, it has so much more intense action. It is a heart pumping, nail biting, sigh worthy story. I look forward to seeing what comes next. 

·       Character Casting

o   Sage Radkey: Lucy Hale
 




o   Colt: Dylan O'brien
 



o   Jenna: Dove Cameron





o   Anthony: Theo James




o   Max: Levi Miller


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Saturday 13 February 2016

Kingdom By The Sea Review





A secret passage holds more than spider webs

When a ship's captain is forced to enslave island natives to please his fiancée, Princess Serena, he takes refuge in the company of a beautiful slave girl. The princess is devastated by his betrayal, and the lives of all the slaves in her realm are now at risk. The heart-broken princess has acquired great power at her father’s death, could she use it to force the captain’s fulfillment of his promise to her? Or will the affectionate stable-hand, despite his own secrets, have his chance at her heart after all? 
In the romantic style of master writers like Anita Stanfield, Anna del C. Dye has skillfully entwined these relationships into a captivating, edge-of-your-seat medieval romance that will have readers guessing until the final page. Young adults everywhere-A Kingdom by the Sea is the book you MUST read!

Anna was born in the extreme South along some famous beaches. She grew up with four other siblings, being placed in the middle.
Anna moved to the USA to marry her husband, Rodney, and has resided in Utah since then. Her husband, a native of Idaho, met her in her hometown. They fell in love and she came to Utah on Christmas Eve to be married two weeks later. They are the parents of three princes and a princess.
Early on in her life she showed an affinity for sewing and took classes that rewarded her with the opportunities of doing costuming for the cast of four musicals, and for Utah’s own Fantasy Con, which she enjoyed immensely. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. Anna lives in Taylorsville Utah.

Some of Anna’s writing recognitions:
She received the Editor’s Choice Award from the International Library of Poetry and had her article entitled A New American Mother published by Desert Saints Magazine. Her short story entitled Amerine—Fairy Princess won an award in the Oquirrh chapter contest and was published by Kalkion Magazine. (Now it is published as an e-book.) Other articles about family and relationship have been published frequently in the MOMS CLUB® of Salt Lake Valley-West. She has published 7 books on her Elf series. One won a bronze seal, another first page second place and yet another Honorable mention. Her love story was published by Deseret book in the anthology entitled Angels Round About compiled by July C. Olsen. Another of her articles was included in the book Mother’s Message in a Bottle, edited by Tyler Hayden and published by Ninbus Publishing. Her new series A Royal Romance was published in Feb 2015 with the first book being “Once Upon Two Kingdoms, which won a first page award. “A Kingdom by the Sea.” Second book in A Royal Romance, was published Feb. 2016.

Connect With The Author Here:




4 Out of 5 stars

 I must say that from just reading the book blurb I had no clue how the Author would make this book work. I just couldn’t see how anyone would even care if the princess finds love. But she did it and she did it beautifully! There were plenty of twists and turns, making you second guess everything you knew about a person. In some places it got a bit wordy but overall the story is enjoyable and fun to read. I liked seeing the main female character develop throughout the story. But my favourite character was the stable boy. While It is written specifically for YA I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys a great clean story with heart.


Author Interview

How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for twelve years, though I doodled about with some children’s picture books a long time ago. I never pursued the children’s picture books. I’ve been a published author for ten years. I wrote six books in the years before I was published.


Where did you get the ideas for this book?
Kingdom by the Sea was created the night after I saw the musical AIDA, I couldn’t sleep because I was disappointed with the ending. (It’s just me, the musical is great.) I spent the night thinking what would I have done different if it was my story and by morning Kingdom by the Sea had been born.
Aida has a ship’s captain and he is the main protagonist. He is the princess’ lover and he does fall in love with a slave girl.
Kingdom by the Sea has some of these elements but the story follows the princess and her awakening to a world she was part of but never knew. It turns out completely different from the musical Aida and that is what makes it awesome.

Are any of your characters like the real people in your life?
Many of my characters are not purposelessly like people I know, but they are like them. In my Elf books The Silent Warrior Trilogy, Adren, the princess, is just like my daughter. They are one, calm and soft on the outside but you know that a sleeping giant is awaiting to surface.  There is strength within all of us, but not all find it.

Do you have a favorite story about one of your readers?
A teenager entered my booth once and bought one of my elf books and said, “Now I need to go buy candles.”  “Candles?” I asked. “Yes, to read your book.” I said, “Why don’t you use a light?” “No way,” she said. “You can’t read a book like this one without candles. They are the only way to live in the scene with the characters.”

How many books have you written?
I have written quite a few, but I have published ten:
The Silent Warrior Trilogy
Book 1 The Elf and the Princess
Book 2 Trouble in the Elf City
Book 3 Elfs in a Conquered Realm
I have also written:
The Royal Elf of Avalon
Curse of the Elfs
Shahira and the Flying Elfs
And the last one in that series: The Roilden Stones of Elf Mountain
I have the middle grade book, Emerine’s Nightmare, published in electronic format only.
My new series is A Royal Romance and there are two books out so far in that series:
Once Upon Two Kingdoms and Kingdom by the Sea
(questions supplied by Christy Monson)


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Valentine Blitz Day 12 - The Captive

 


Former Navy SEAL Jake Williams is the newly appointed head of a task force assigned to rescue a kidnapped American diplomat. Their only hope is Mya Amari, the daughter of a notorious Algerian hostage negotiator, but she is full of secrets and complications–something Jake takes as a personal challenge. As they grow closer, the threat to the mission escalates and time runs out for the hostages. Can Jake unravel the web of deception to save them all without getting caught in the crossfire?

Mya Amari has been in hiding nearly her entire life to escape her father’s enemies. But when her sister is kidnapped along with an American diplomat, she’ll do anything to bring her home–including walking into the enemy’s lair. She doesn’t trust anyone, especially the too-handsome-for-his-own-good Commander Williams, but when all her careful plans explode out of control, he’s the only one she can turn to with the truth about her family. Is it too little, too late? 



       


Julie Coulter Bellon is the author of more than a dozen romantic suspense novels. Her book All Fall Down won the RONE award for Best Suspense and Pocket Full of Posies won a RONE Honorable Mention for Best Suspense.

Julie loves to travel and her favorite cities she's visited so far are probably Athens, Paris, Ottawa, and London. She loves to read, write, teach, watch Castle, Hawaii Five-O, and eat Canadian chocolate. Not necessarily in that order.

Julie offers writing and publishing tips as well as her take on life on her blog ldswritermom.blogspot.com You can also find out about all her upcoming projects at her website juliebellon.com 


Author Newsletter http://eepurl.com/g48Pz

Facts About the Author:
  1. When I am not writing I like to read, play board games with the family, (our new favorite is Sheriff of Nottingham), or watch Castle.


    2. I am working on the second book in my Griffin Force series called The Captain and it should be released in May 2016.
Connect with the Author:

    

      


Snippet #2

He was looking out the kitchen window when Mya came in. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, standing in the doorway, watching him. She looked undecided, as if she wanted to come in, but didn’t know if she should. “Is everything okay?” he asked finally, turning his face toward her.
“Yeah.” But she still didn’t sound sure.
He moved to the table and motioned her toward it. “Looks like a pretty quiet neighborhood. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
“That’s what I thought about the last place.” She shuddered slightly. “Watching those gunmen through that camera made me feel so helpless. I thought they were going to kill them, then come for us.” Her voice trailed off.  “I’ve lost so many people in my life.”
The vulnerability in her voice was unmistakable, the longing for connection. Jake saw himself in her statement, their similar losses forging an emotional bond he’d never felt with anyone else.  He put his hand on hers, needing to touch her. “You won’t lose me.” The attraction that had been simmering between them flared to life. He lifted her hand, letting his thumb run over her knuckles. “I promise.”  She sucked in a breath, unable to keep her eyes off him as he flipped her hand over palm up and pulled it to his mouth, kissing the inside of her wrist. 
“Jake,” she whispered, leaning close. 
He lifted his hand to cup her face and she nestled her cheek against it. 



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